The Lion King

Desolate, eerie and stunning are the best words to describe Namibia’s Skeletal Coast. Being keen on abandoned sites, this area sure was an explorers dream.

Viewing game in Etosha is quite easy as all you need to do is sit by the watering hole with your favourite beverage and camera at hand.

Wild Camping in Botswana

Just imagine… peaking out of the Yster Ratel’s porthole and seeing elephant silhouettes under the moonlight knowing that they are within mere feet from you, hearing the lions roar in the distance all the while regretting having drank too much and now having a violent urge to pee! Welcome to camping in Botswana. We spent several days camping in Moremi Game Reserve, Chobe National Park and the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR). Moremi and Chobe have some of the largest elephants and also the worlds highest camping prices (e.g., 50 USD per person per night for foreigners EXCLUDING park fees at the Savuti camp). Best pucker up and roll with the punches. Yes, we recognized that the prices were absolutely ridiculous but when you experience such stellar game viewing you begin mentally healing the lashes inflicted at the hands of the extortionary prices. The CKGR was one of the most remote places that we’ve camped which required us to seriously calculate our extra fuel, water and supply requirements. We saw more lions than people during our 4 nights in the CKGR. One evening, Michel started preparing grilled cheese sandwhiches outside while Tamaira was doing a little housecleaning. Within seconds, Michel yanked opened the door threw everything inside and then slammed the door shut. Very quickly, Tamaira learned why, four big eyes glaring right at us. Two female lions. Michel definitely needed to check his shorts after that one…

Tigerfishing, hearing hippos, spotting crocs along the rivers edge and watching the sun set and rise were some of the reasons that the Okavongo Delta is one of the most magical places on earth. The journey to the Guma Lagoon Camp began with several water crossings which the old girl handled quite well. Tamaira also enjoyed the crossings as she spent most of the time on the Yster Ratel’s bonet or swimming across the snake and croc filled waters in order to take the perfect action photos (another one of Michel’s brilliant ideas).

Once in Kasane, we had to decide if we wanted to cross over into Zam or Zim in order to see Victoria Falls. We received confirmation that the mighty Zambezi water levels were too high for us to swim in the Devil’s Pool at this time and the rafting was unfortunately only class 3 due to the high water flow. Both of these were non-negotiable for us and not wanting to be disappointed, we decided that we would save Victoria Falls for a future trip. Sadly, we are now back in South Africa in order to sell our beloved Land Rover. 120 days on the road and nearly 20,000 kilometres and it’s time to part with our comrade and dearest travel partner. Clearly, you can tell that Michel did not write this post as the above would have read (e.g., “We have decided to ship our beloved Land Rover back to Canada for a full museum restoration” or “Unfortunatly, my wife is making me sell our beloved Land Rover which I would have just shipped back to Canada for a full museum restoration”). With the money we make from the sale, we’re setting our sights on scuba diving during the last stage of our trip as much as possible.